


Fire and Ice

by Ironlegionaire



Series: Fire and Ice series [1]
Category: Frozen (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Post-Canon, Post-Frozen (2013)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-07-12 05:57:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19941325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ironlegionaire/pseuds/Ironlegionaire
Summary: When she’s called away to a far off desert kingdom to help investigate a mysterious threat, Elsa makes an encounter that alters the course of her destiny.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you have questions about my stories or ideas visit my Tumblr at https://l-egionaire.tumblr.com.

**Disclaimer: Frozen is the property of Disney. I only own my Oc's and any ideas I contribute to the fandom.**

* * *

Arbia. The capitol of a quiet desert kingdom situated in the east. The large buildings that cut through the burning hot sand were home to scholars, merchants, and the peaceful people who inhabited the city. At the very end of the road was a grand palace that was built into the wall of a massive rock overlooking the entire town. The city acted as a shining oasis in the otherwise bleak and inhospitable environment.

Going through the street was a large cart pulled by two horses. Sitting in front where two incredibly muscular men with shining bronze skin. They wore uniforms of dark red cloth pants and sleeveless shirts with metal guards on their shoulders. A scabbard with a scimitar hung by their sides. On their waists was the image of a golden hand splayed out, the symbol of the kingdom. The back of the cart was filled with heavy white bags tied with rope.

Both men were on high alert, looking back and forth as their vehicle moved down the road.

"Are you sure it'll be here?" The one on the left asked.

The other one nodded. "I'm sure. It's hit every last cart that's gone through town."

His partner scoffed. "I still say this thing is just a myth."

The other man scowled. "A myth? A myth!? Do you think so many of our men have been hurt by just a myth? That a myth has been stealing from us? What about the captain? Do you think that what happened to him was caused by a myth?!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" The left man said defensively. Once his friend back down, he said. "I'm just not convinced it's a monster like everyone says it is. It's probably just a thief using tricks to make them look more dangerous."

"Trust me, it is not just a thief. And it's much worse than a damn monster. I've seen the wounds some of the other guards have come back with. Whatever it is, it is _brutal_ and _inhuman._ I just pray we don't-." The man suddenly stopped talking. He cautiously sniffed the air a few times before breaking into a harsh sweat.

The other man looked at him worriedly. "What's the matter?"

His friend slowly turned his heads towards him and frightfully whispered. _"It's here!"_

Before either men could react, something came down from above them and smashed into their cart, creating a massive explosion of fire that blasted the men forward and caused their steeds to run off, the riggings that held them to the cart now burnt away.

One man pulled himself up and gazed upon the carnage now before him.

The cart was nothing more than a collection of chard splinters. Standing in the center of the wreckage, cloaked by a shroud of smoke, was a tall, thin, vaguely humanoid figure. The only truly defining quality the man could make out were it's eyes, which glowed like two miniature suns with flames leaking out of the sides.

The man managed to wrestle his fear and yell out. "By order of king Faraj, I command you to surrender!" Before whipping out his scimitar

The figure said nothing, and stepped forward out of the smoke. It was revealed to be an enormous figure dressed from head to toe in a tattered robe like piece of clothing the color of the desert sand. The figures face was hidden by a mass of cloth around its head and orange cloth around its mouth. From a small opening in the face, flames poured out of its eyes.

Faster than the guard could react, it raced forward and grabbed his sword blade. Its hand began to glow bright red and soon so did the guards sword, until the blade melted into a pile of slag.

While the guard was shocked by the sight of his destroyed weapon, the figure raised its arm and a layer of fire spread over it. It pulled back its fist and slugged the guard in the chest, the fire enhancing its punch and propelling the guard several feet back until he collided with a fruit stand.

The other guard, who had been knocked out by the cart explosion, regained consciousness and saw his partner get flung away by the person. He quickly got to his feet and charged at them with his sword swinging wildly. But they danced around each of his sword swipes. Once he had tired himself out, the being cloaked its leg in fire and kicked the second guard away.

Once they were sure he was down, the figure snapped their fingers and the sound of heavy thuds echoed across the sand. From behind one of the buildings came a strange massive creature that appeared to be woven out of fire. Trails of flames rose off every inch of it. Its face and body was like that of a fierce jungle cat but its legs ended in strong thick hooves, the top of its head had strong sharp antlers and on its back appeared to be a set of bird wings.

The attacker beckoned to the creature and it bounded towards it. They went over to the cart wreckage and dug around until they withdrew several of the bags in the back and piled them onto the creature's back. Once they finished loading all the bags, the figure climbed onto the creatures back and the creature exhaled a cloud of smoke and, once it dissipated, both the figure and the creature where gone.

The first guard, now covered in bruises and burns, walked over and helped his friend to his feet. The two gazed at both the scorched remains of their vehicle and the place where the two strange beings had once been.

The first guard turned to his stunned friend.

"Still think it's a myth?

* * *

In the beautiful amber halls of the palace, a man walked carefully towards a gigantic set of ornate doors. He was muscular and wore the same uniform as the other two, though his included a gold and black sash across his shoulder, but he looked vastly different. Every visible part of his body was covered in harsh burns, but his face was the most damaged. The left half of his face almost appeared to have been melted, scars running all the way down to his chin, his left eye milky white and useless

He pushed through the doors to find a young man in gorgeous orange clothes sitting on the throne. The guard bowed respectfully.

"Your majesty, there's been some trouble. Two more of my men were viciously assaulted by the demon. They are unharmed, but this problem is getting out of hand. I came to request permission to recruit and train another platoon in order to hunt this monster down and slay it."

The young king was unmoved. "You have come to me many times before with the same proposal. We've thrown dozens of guards and weapons at this creature but it still fails. If blades and warriors cannot stop this demon, then perhaps we should find another way to deal with this beast-."

"Your highness, with all due respect, you're father put me in charge of watching over the kingdom for potential threats and reporting back any signs of trouble. My men and I have kept the kingdom safe for years, but this monster will continue to plague our village and endanger out people if we don't stop it. Trust me when I say, that I will find a way to stop it. But I need more men."

The young king, Faraj, looked thoughtfully at the guard before saying. "I will think about it, Urooj. But let me make myself clear, nothing is to be done until I give my permission. Is that clear?"

"Of course, your majesty." Urooj bowed to him and retreated back through the doors.

Once his captain was gone, Faraj hung his head. Ever since the death of his father, he'd been trying to manage his kingdom the best he could. But his guards and advisors did most of the actual politics, assuring him that they had everything under control and there was no need to worry. But that wasn't enough anymore. He had to be strong and decisive. Just as his father was.

So, his thoughts turned to the demon. From what he knew, it had been a massive issue for years. Many Arbians saw it as a myth, but the guards reports did not lie. This creature seemingly came out of nowhere at random, attacked his men, and then disappeared back into the sand without a trace. The beast was also rumored to have some strange power over fire and heat.

Then something occurred to him. He left the throne room and ventured to his study. His desk was littered with a small stack of letters and he dug around until he found the one he was looking for, a small green envelope sealed with a purple crocus pin.

He was nervous. He couldn't be sure the report his ambassador had left him wasn't some kind of joke. But this seemed like the best option he had. Sending wave after wave of Arbians at the demon hadn't helped, so perhaps some outside assistance was needed.

After all, what better way to fight the heat then with the cold?


	2. Chapter 2

In Arendelle, Queen Elsa was attending to her usual duties as queen. Which meant going through the massive pile of letters, documents, and matters of state that found themselves to her desk.

"Okay, let's see." She muttered, opening yet another envelope. "Dear Queen Elsa, our king humbly invites you to our kingdom so that you may discuss-." She groaned. "A proposal of marriage. He feels you may be interested in securing the future of your kingdom after the announcement of your sister's engagement." With each word she read, frost began to form on the letter until it was completely frozen solid. She dropped it to the floor where it joined a pile of similarly iced over pieces of parchments.

Elsa rubbed her temples. Ever since the other kingdoms had become marginally used to her powers, she'd been receiving marriage proposal from what seemed like every eligible king, prince, and noble that existed. And once Anna and Kristoff's engagement had been announced, the number of proposals had doubled. Apparently, most of her allies were convinced that, since she was allowing her sister to marry a lowly ice harvester, she would want to marry to make sure the kingdoms throne was kept inrespectable hands.

Elsa grit her teeth. It was bad enough she had to hear that sort of chatter from her council, who had fought her tooth and nail on their courtship. She wouldn't hear that kind of talk from her allies. Anna's happiness was worth more to her than royal propriety. If she wanted to marry a goat herder, she would make it happen.

Trying to ignore these harsh thoughts, she pulled out another letter, but as her eyes scanned the page, her mood grew much worse.

"More shortages." She muttered worriedly.

Ever since cutting off the Duke of Weselton at her coronation, Arendelle's trade had taken a major hit. Not only had they lost one of their biggest partners, but the Duke had found a way to avoid trouble by claiming to be the victim of the situation. From what she'd heard, he'd even written a book,The Snow Queen,detailing his encounter with "the ice queen with a frozen heart". The story had spread like wild fire and while some hadn't believed his words, many were fearful to trade with Arendelle and unfortunately Weselton and Arendelle shared many allies. Her kingdom had begun to lose a number of goods that they had long gotten from other kingdoms and it was starting to worry people.

She sighed. She'd been queen for nearly five months now. She'd been working hard to reconnect with her sister and make up for the damage to her kingdom, but it still felt like she was letting people down. Frustrated, she tossed the letter to the wrong side, where it hit the mountain of unread papers and caused the pile to fall to the ground.

Huffing, she bent down and began to pick up letters, reports, and notes when she noticed a peculiar looking enveloped. It was a bit weathered, the outside appearing slightly battered.

She picked the envelope up and turned it over to find that it was sealed by an unfamiliar royal seal, the image of a splayed out hand. Curious, she opened it and began to read the letter inside, her brow furrowing as she got closer to the bottom of the page. Once she had finished, she went over to the bookshelf on the side of her desk and examined the spines of each book until she finally discovered the one she was looking for. A thick brown tome.

She layed it out on her desk, revealing the yellowed pages of different maps. She flipped through a few and found the page bearing an image of her country. She pressed her finger against the dot labeledArendelle, and traced her finger across the page, going downward and farther right, until it landed on the dot labeledArbia.

Elsa griped her chin as she began to think…..

* * *

Around mid-day, Elsa paced in the palace courtyard trying to to think of how to talk with her family about the contents of the letter. She was pulled out of her concerned thoughts once she saw her sister, Kristoff, and Olaf entering the gates, Anna guffawing at something Kristoff had just told her.

"Oh, Elsa! You'll never believe what Kristoff just-." Anna noticed the worried expression on her sisters face. "What's the matter?"

Elsa let out a small breath. "We need to talk."

Anna put up her hands. "Okay, I did it!"

Elsa frowned. "What?"

"I saw the pig going through the market and I figured we couldn't just have a pig running around, so I thought, "If I just caught it-."

"This isn't about that." Elsa said, slightly confused.

"It's not?" Anna asked.

"No."

"Oh." Anna stood there awkwardly before quickly saying. "Then what do you need to talk about?"

Elsa motioned towards herself. "Come with me."

* * *

Dear Queen Elsa

My kingdom has been besieged by an unknown creature that wields the power of fire. We have no knowledge of where this monster comes from, or why it is attacking our people, but all attempts to subdue it have led to the injury of my soldiers. That is why I write to you now and ask you for your assistance in dealing with this threat. I have heard tell of your abilities and believe that you may be able to rid our kingdom of this creature. Our countries have been allies by word only and hopefully this will allow us to work together and reaffirm our nations bonds.

Sincerely, his majesty, King Faraj.

Once she had finished reading, Elsa looked up at the others, who were now looking worriedly at her.

"So, this king, from a country you've never heard of before now, is asking you come to his country and fight some kind of-of, fire monster?" Kristoff asked skeptically.

Elsa nodded as she set the letter on her desk. "Apparently his kingdom is a lot like ours used to be. Isolated, cut off from the rest of the world. It's a desert kingdom in the Far East. They don't usually receive visitors, so few people have ever heard of them."

"Then how did this king hear about you?" Kristoff asked.

"Even an isolated kingdom needs to send representatives. His countries ambassador was present at the coronation. They most likely informed him of my…abilities."

That seemed to sate Kristoff's questions for the moment. Then Anna spoke up.

"So….are you gonna go?"

That caused Elsa to glance at her sister with slight trepidation. "I don't know."

"Well, I think you should go!" Olaf chimed in. "If these people need your help, then you should go and help them."

"Uh, you did hear the part about the fire monster, right Olaf? Last time I checked, fire melts ice." Kristoff pointed out.

"Pffft, fire monster, schmire monster. Elsa can take on anything these people are dealing with." Anna retorted confidently.

"But she's never actually used her powers to fight." Kristoff pointed out. "And who knows what this thing might be capable of. I'm just saying, it might not be a bad idea to be a bit worried about what might happen!

"Kristoff, Elsa has frozen an entire country!"

"Yeah, so just imagine what this thing could do!"

"She can handle herself!"

"Just because you don't want to admit your sister could lose-!"

"Ahem"

Anna and Kristoff stopped their squabbling and looked over to Elsa who was watching them with bemusement.

"While I find your concern touching, I have to point out that it's my decision."

Anna and Kristof looked at each other sheepishly. Then Kristoff asked. "So, what are you going to do?"

Elsa looked down thoughtfully at the letter now lying on her desk, the tips of her fingers gently moving down the page.

"Arendelle needs supplies." Elsa said, seemingly to the air. "Arbia may not be a fabulously wealthy nation, but they have goods. Spices, silk, precious gems. All things that could help our country."

"And the fire monster?" Kristoff enquired.

"I'll just have to hope my ice is stronger." Elsa surmised.

"Yeah! That's the spirit! So, when do we leave?" Anna asked excitedly.

"You two aren't going Anna." Elsa said sternly.

Anna's face fell. "W-what? Why not?"

"This journey will take a great deal of time. While I'm gone someone needs to watch over Arendelle." Elsa explained

"B-but you need us! What if this fire monster is too much to for you?" Anna asked quickly.

"Just two seconds ago you seemed sure I could deal with it on my own." Elsa pointed out.

"Well yeah, but I meant "with us" on your own not "on your own" on your own!" Anna was beginning to look frightened.

"The people need to know the royal family of Arendelle is still watching over them and if something does happen to me-."

"Don't say that!" Anna blurted out, before she began anxiously wringing her hands and pacing.

"I'm sorry. I just –I really don't want to think about-I mean if something really did-I-I." She seemed to struggle to find the right words before simply giving a concerned glance to her sister.

Elsa immediately understood and went over to reassuringly embrace her sister.

"Nothing bad is going to happen." Elsa whispered.

"I just got you back." Anna said tearfully, tightening her grip on Elsa. "I don't know what I'd do if something happened to you."

"I know." Elsa assured her. "But that's exactly why I want you to stay here. The last thing I'd want is for you to be caught in the middle of the crossfire between me and this monster. Besides, you're engaged. You should be here with your fiance."

Anna lifted her head slightly to look her sister in the eye. "But what if you need me?"

Elsa grinned bemusedly. "I suppose I'll just do the opposite of whatever I planned to." Seeing that her sister was still concerned, Elsa lightly squeezed her hands and said. "I'll be okay Anna."

Anna still seemed upset, but looking at her sister she seemed to realize that there was nothing she could say to change her mind. She sighed and asked. "When do you leave?"

"I should set out tomorrow. I know it's sudden, but it's a long journey and the sooner I get there, the sooner I can come back." Elsa said, noticing her sister distress at the news.

"Oh,oh,oh! Can I come?" Olaf asked excitedly. "An entire kingdom made of dessert sounds amazing!"

"Olaf, it's a desert kingdom." Kristoff explained, his hand pressed to his face in exasperation. "Sand, hot temperatures, no ice for miles."

"Oh." Olaf seemed to think about that before saying. "That sounds great! White Sands! Hot temperatures! I'll be the coolest thing for miles! I'm in!"

"Olaf, I don't think that-." Elsa began.

"No, no, no, take him!" Anna interrupted.

"Why?"

"If me and Kristoff can't go, than at least one person is with you. Besides, he could come in handy. He said my life. Maybe he'll save yours." Anna said.

Elsa sighed. "Okay"

"Yay! I'm gonna go pack my stuff!" Olaf ran out the door, shutting the door behind him. Then, the door opened again and Olaf poked his head back in. "I just realized I don't have any stuff. So, I'll just count the seconds until tomorrow!" Olaf left back out but his voice drifted back to the room. "1…2…3…whatever comes after 3…."

They all stared at the door with obvious doubt on their faces.

"I'm sure he'll come in handy." Kristoff snarked.

* * *

The next day, Anna and Kristoff saw Elsa and Olaf off on the royal sailing sailing ship. Anna bent down and gave Olaf a nice bear hug.

"Make sure you watch after Elsa, okay Olaf?" Anna said.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to keep an eye on her." Olaf reassured her. He then twaddle up the gangplank and onto the deck of the ship.

Anna then turned to Elsa and engulfed her in a hug too. "Promise you'll come back." Anna whispered.

Elsa stiffened in her arms. "Anna, you know that I can't guarantee-."

Anna tightened her hold on her. "Promise me."

Elsa was silent for a moment before saying. "I promise."

Once Anna had let go, Elsa looked to Kristoff and said. "Take care of my sister."

"No need to ask." Kristoff replied.

Giving one last sorrowful look towards them, Elsa went up to the deck of the ship and the crew set sail. Elsa watched as her kingdom shrank more and more until it completely disappeared off and there was nothing left but clear blue seas


	3. Chapter 3

The journey to Arbia was a long one. The boat had taken nearly two days to reach the port and then they had met with a caravan to ride camels to the kingdom. Thankfully, the journey had been peaceful.

"Are we there yet?" Olaf whined

Well, mostly peaceful.

Olaf had splayed himself out in exasperation on the camel's back, the double sized flurry over his ead working overtime to keep him cold.

They'd been traveling through the sand for nearly an hour and a half, and after about the first half hour the snowman had started complaining like a child, constantly asking when they would arrive.

Elsa exhaled testily, doing her best to remember Olaf was family, they'd been on the road for a while and it would be rather petty to fling his head over a dune. She gave a wave of her hand, creating a sphere of cold that protected her from the desert sun. "No Olaf. Like I've told you before, we'll get to the city when we get there."

"But we've been on the road for sooooo long! I just want to get there!"

"That makes one of us." Elsa mumbled. The closer they got to the city, the more nervous she became. As much as she didn't want to think about it, Kristoff's words were ringing in her ears. She had no idea of what this fire monster might be or what sort of power it possessed. For all she knew, it could be powerful enough to melt her like a snowflake on a hot brick and then go on terrorizing these people.

But then she remembered her promise to Anna. She'd sworn to her sister that she'd come back to her. And she wasn't about to let Anna lose another person she cared about. She had to suceed.

While still lost in thought, she realized her camel had stopped behind the man leading them, who had come to a halt at the edge of a hill of sand. She looked ahead of him and her stomach swooped with both anticipation and nervousness. Below them was a large circular cluster of hundreds of buildings centered around a cliff of rock that a palace was built into.

They had arrived.

They continued downward until arriving at the edge of the city. The minute they got there, Olaf leaped off his camel and excitedly yelled. "We're here!" Before running off into the city.

"Olaf, wait!" Elsa got off her camel and was about to run after him, until she remembered the caravan who'd brought them. She turned to the head rider and quickly said. "Thank you for your help. We can handle ourselves from here." Before running off after Olaf.

She sprinted down a street filled with thick brown stone houses, looking around for any sign of him. While running she glimpsed children playing small games, merchants selling wears, and woman walking around with scarves wrapped around their heads.

She looked around, trying to find any sign of Olaf until she heard a loud scream coming from a bit far to the left. She turned that way and raced to the area. As she got closer, she noticed an strong smell, it was a bit like the smell of a fireplace that had been burning for hours on end. When she got to the spot, she was aghast at what she saw.

The area was almost completely deserted. There were multiple destroyed or overturned carts filled with goods all around and the ground was covered in scorch marks. Lying flat on the ground were two unconcious men wearing short shirts with armored sleeves and baggy cloth pants. Next to them were a pair melted swords. Towering over them was a lanky figure covered from head to toe in cloth with eyes that seemed to leak flames and its arms engulfed in fire.

The fire monster.

One man in similar uniform to the other two was left standing. He withdrew his own blade and charged at the figure, swinging his weapon wildly. But the figure sidestepped each of his swipes and when he thrust too hard forward and fell forward, the beast gave him a flame fueled punch as he fell that proppeled him straight into a glassware cart and knocked him out cold

Elsa gasped and quickly hid behind the corner of a building. She peeked out and saw the fire creature walk over to a nearby cart filled with fruit. The figured grabbed a worn cloth sack near the cart, extinguished the flames around its hands, and began filling the bag with fruit.

Elsa's heart raced. She knew she had to do something, but seeing the creature up close quickly made her doubt her ability to handle the situation. She'd only had her powers under control for a few months and had never had to fight another being with magic. What could she do to stop it?

Her eyes then glanced at the men knocked out on the ground and her fist clenched in anger. This creature was hurting people. She had to do something.

Seeing that the monsters back was still to her, she swirled her hands together and a sphere of ice began to form in mid-air. Elsa kept her eyes on the creature as she finished the ice ball-.

"Hey Elsa, what'cha doing?"

When Olaf appeared out of nowhere, causing her to lose her concentration and the ice ball to fall to the ground and shattered into pieces.

She immediately looked over her shoulder and saw to her horror that the monster had stopped bagging fruit and it turned its head to the side, no doubt having heard the noise.

Elsa immediately panicked. Holding a finger to her mouth, she hastily whispered. "Olaf, Olaf shhh."

"What's going on? Are we playing hide and seek? Can I be it?" Olaf asked excitedly.

Elsa racked her brain on what to do to keep Olaf quiet. She turned and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the creature slowly coming towards them, having relit its arms.

Unfortunately, Olaf also saw it and he immediately ran towards the creature, outstretching his twig arm up to the being once immediately in front of it.

"Hi, im Olaf and I like warm hugs!"

To Elsa's utter amazement, the creature seemed to be stunned by Olaf. It recoiled from him and for a moment the fires around its body vanished.

Elsa's own eyes widened at what she saw.

Its eyes were human.

In the small gap in the cloth around the creatures face, she could clearly see a pair of human eyes filled with a mix of confusion and fear. The irises seemed to be an amber color that glowed in the desert sun.

After a moment the beast seemed to lose some of its fear. It bent all the way down to Olaf's height and reached out one of its arms towards him. Elsa saw that the area around its arms were completely devoid of any cloth and the cloth around its shoulders was torn, black, and charred. Its arms were also human looking with lightly tan colored skin. Elsa wondered whether or not she should act, but something held her back. The creature didn't seem to mean any harm.

It balled up the fingers on its hand until only its pointer finger was left and then gently poked Olaf in the belly.

Olaf giggled. "Stop! That tickles!"

The being tilted its head curiously. It slowly splayed out its hand and then pressed its entire hand into Olaf's stomach, leaving a small handprint in his gut. It flexed its snow smeared fingers, seeming to marvel at the sight.

Olaf laughed harder and tried to cover his belly with his hands. "Knock it off!"

Elsa slowly crept forward to get a better look but accidently stumbled, causing her to let a small gasp.

The being immediatly rose back to its full height, turned to look down at her and their eyes locked. They both focused on each other, neither moving an inch.

"Stop demon!"

They both looked to the left and saw a large group of men all wearing the same uniforms as the men from before, all bearing various weapons from schimitars, to spears, to maces, and charging towards them.

The fire being immediately reignited their eyes, and arms, then ran back to the cart and retrieved their bag of fruit. Once it had that, it sprinted off and after a few feet, kicked its foot against the ground, creating a huge blast of fire that propelled it high into the air.

Elsa was so engrossed with watching the being go, she failed to notice the crowd of men catch up to her.

"After it!" Barked the man at the front of the group. As the others followed after the fire being, he turned to Elsa. "And just who are you?"

"I'm Elsa of-" She then looked at him and yelped at the sight of the mans face. It looked as if the right side of his face had melted, a large mass of melted flesh and scars surrounding one milky white eye.

"Who are you?!" The man repeated.

Elsa shook off her shock and tried to look as regally as possible. "I am queen Elsa of Arendelle. I was invited by king Faraj to come and meet about your fire monster problem."

The man scoffed. "The king would never do something liked that."

"Well he sent me a letter." Elsa withdrew the letter from the king and showed it to the man.

He scowled and snatched the letter from her hands. He seemed to grow even more angry as his eyes scanned the page. Once he'd finished he huffed, shoved the letter into his pocket. "Fine. I shall take you to meet the king."

At that moment, Olaf waddled over to the two of them. "Hey Elsa, did you see that? That nice guy tickled me."

The man pulled out the scimitar hanging from the side and pointed it straight at Olaf. "What is that?"

Elsa immediately moved inbetween Olaf and the point of the blade. "Don't hurt him! He's my snowman."

Olaf peeked out from behind Elsa's leg and gasped at the mans face. "Woah what happened to your face? It looks like you were made of ice and stayed out in the sun too long."

It was moments like this that made Elsa seriously wonder why she had given Olaf a mouth.

But the man simply chuckled mirthlessly, then gestured to his face. "This is what I recieved from my last encounter with the demon. I am Urooj, head captain of the guards for this kingdom. Come along your majesty, little ice man. Let us go and meet with the king."

* * *

Urooj lead Elsa and Olaf to the palace. They walked through the halls until they arrived in the throne room and saw a young man sitting on the throne in the middle of the room. He had beige skin, orange robes, and his hands bore multiple rings, and his wrists were adorned with large ring like bronze bracelets. His face bore a pensive expression.

The young man looked up once they entered the room. "What is it Urooj?"

Urooj bowed to the young man. "King Faraj. These people-." He gestured to Elsa and Olaf. "-Say you invited them here."

Elsa stepped forward and gave a quick curtsey to the king. "Your majesty. I'm queen Elsa of Arendelle."

Faraj grew excited when she said that. He practically leapt off his thrown as he got up to greet them. He grabbed Elsa's hand and shook it vigorously in between both of his. "Queen Elsa! It is so good to finally meet you!" He looked slightly over and noticed Olaf behind her. "What is this?"

"I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" Olaf said, clearly unfazed at having been referred to as a " this".

The king paused for a moment, then asked. "Can I have a hug?"

"Sure!" The king bent down and pulled the snowman into a hug.

Urooj gaped at the king. "Sire, you really asked this woman to come here?"

"Of course." Said Faraj as he released Olaf. "You're men and weapons have been ineffective in stopping the creature, so I thought it might be useful to try and bring in some outside help."

"Your heighnesss, I need to be informed of such decisions!" Urooj shouted. "My job is to keep Arbia safe. Letting in outsiders invites unnecessary risk!

"Are you questioning my judgement Urooj?" Faraj asked coldly.

Urooj faltered for a moment before responding. "I just thought that you would've seen the need to be mire secure. As your father did."

That comment seemed to hit Faraj hard. His shoulders slumped and he trained his eyes to the floor. "Well...I am not my father. I am doing what I feel is best for our kingdom."

"Let us hope you are right."

The room fell silent after that. Hoping to cut the tension Elsa asked. "So, what can you tell me about the attacks?"

Faraj raised his head and regained a bit of composure . "Um, Only what i've heard from the guards and read in reports. The attacks have been going on for 8 years. The creature has been around since my father was king. It attacks our guards while they protect the town and it terrorizes the people. Many of them fear to leave their homes."

Urooj scoffed. "Trust me my king, it's much worse than you've heard. Dozens of my men have returned covered in burns, and shaking in fear. I've seen unnimaginable destruction created by this monster. And of course there is my own experience. Believe me, this demon is cruel and inhuman."

Elsa felt she had to speak up. "Not to discount you or your men, but I don't think this thing is a monster. From what I saw it looked like a person."

Faraj looked to her with concern. "You saw the creature?"

"Yes. It didn't attack me or Olaf. And when I looked at it, I saw its eyes. It had human eyes."

"It didn't seem that bad when it tickled my tummy" Olaf pointed a finger to the hand print on his stomach.

King Faraj bent down and closely examined the handprint. After a few seconds he stood back up and looked pointedly at Urooj. "Did you know about this?"

"I did not find it relevant your majesty." Urooj replied calmly.

"Not relevant?" You and your men told that you were hunting a creature. Some sort of demon, not a person."

"Human eyes do not mean a human heart." Urooj responded. "The actions of this creature have no humanity to be spoken of, so that is how I saw it. Believe me your highness, the most vile and despicable of beings are the ones that hide behind human faces." He sneered over at Elsa. "I fail to sse how this little woman can be of any help to us."

Elsa glared back at Urooj. Captain of the kings guard or no, he was starting to get on her nerves. "Why don't I show you?" She gestured for everyone to step back and Faraj, Urooj, and Olaf retreated slightly away from her.

Elsa cracked her knuckles and then spun around, sweeping her right hand around as she did. As she spun a massive wall of ice erupted from the ground and began spinning around with her until it formed a large dome of ice. Once that was done, she stopped spinning, then held out both hands on either sides of her body, clenched her fists and the dome erupted into a cloud of millions of miniscule twinkling ice crystals. She then let out a strong breath and a cold wind blew away the tiny shards of ice, making the air sparkle with blue light.

Faraj and Olaf clapped with joy while Urooj's jaw dropped at the display of the queens magic.

"Bravo! Bravo Queen Elsa." Said the king as he came back over to her. He then looked at Urooj. "See how she can be of help now?"

Urooj managed to stop gaping at the queen and returned his expression to one of anger and doubt. He said. "Well let us hope your little magic sparkles will be enough to fight this demon." And then left the throne room.

Elsa glared at where he'd stood. "He seems friendly."

"He is not the warmest person." Faraj admitted. "But he's a good man. He has protected our country for years and my father trusted him more than anyone else."

"If I might ask, what happened to your father?"

Faraj choked up the answer. "H-he died. About a year ago."

Elsa felt for the king, still remembering her own parents demise. "I'm so sorry."

Olaf also seemed to feel bad for the king and held out his arms to him. "That's so sad! Okay, that's it. Come on in buddy, get another hug in."

The king sniffled and once again engulfed the little snow man in his arms.

Elsa suddenly realized just how young the king really was. Judging from how he looked, he was even younger than Anna. No more than about 16 or 17.

The King let go of Olaf and turned away from the both of them as he tried to discreetly wipe off tears on the back of his sleeve.

Once he'd finished he looked back at them, clearly trying to keep a brave face. "It's okay. He was a good man, and a great king. I hope to be just like him."

Elsa gave an understanding smile. "We all try to be like our fathers."

"Yes. Yes we do." Faraj said wistfully. He seemed to realize what he'd just said and coughed awkwardly into his hand. "But enough about that. You two must be hungry. Come we will feast in honor of your arrival.

* * *

After a delicious feast with the king, Elsa and Olaf were led by a servant to the room they'd be staying in for the duration of their visit.

The room they were given was a large room with two beds covered in silky dark orange covers. Two wo large marble columns flanked the center of the room and a set of glass doors at the end lead out onto a balcony.

As soon as the door was opened Olaf went straight for the beds and leapt onto the closest one. He laughed giddly as the bed bounced him into the air and he began to pull poses as he fell and rose.

Elsa absentmidendly thanked the servant and then went straight towards the terrace. She pushed open the doors and went out to the balcony.

From her viewpoint she could see all of the city spread out below her, dozens of little lamp lights acting as signs of life and people. Beyond that lied desert where sand dunes. dotted the ground like small hills and the wind swept up sand, creating momentary swirls of red in midair. By now the sky was dark and filled with immeasurable twinkling stars that almost cast a glow upon everything below them. Yet despite the view, Elsa's mind still wandered. All she could think about was the fire creature.

From what she'd heard, the monster had left nothing but destruction in its wake. it had torn through the castles guards like tissue paper and caused untold amounts of chaos. She'd seen firsthand how brutal it could be.

But her mind still turned back to the few seconds where its flames were gone and it had exposed itself. It hadn't seemed dangerous. Curious and cautious, sure, but not the creature she'd heard tell of. When she'd looked at it, she saw an intrigued being, not some monster.

Another thing that irked her was the captains complete disregard at the creature not being what he thought it was. While it was somewhat understandable considering the injuries he had, the way he'd spat the word "demon" brought back some unfortunate memories.

_"Monster!"_

Elsa shuddered, still fully able to remember the fear and outrage in the Duke's voice. She'd once been seen as some sort of monster, there were frankly still days were she saw herself that way, but there was more to her than that.

Was it possible there was more to this fire creature as well?

Having apparently finished his bouncing, Olaf came up to her side and draped himself on the balconys railing. He noticed how distracted she was. "Hey, what'cha thinking about?"

"Nothing, just thinking about today." Her eyes fell back to the city. As her gaze slowly swept over the city, she noticed a small glare in the right corner of her eye. She turned that way and after a few seconds saw a bright light appear and then dissapear in an instant. She squinted slightly, focusing on the area and once again, tere was that quick flicker of light.

Elsa's eyes popped back open in realization.

The light was bright. Like _fire!_

"Olaf, we need to go."


	4. Chapter 4

With a degree of difficulty and a little luck, Elsa and Olaf managed to sneak out of the palace unnoticed. Once they were in town, they raced towards the area where Elsa had seen the flashing lights.

"Uh, Elsa?"

Elsa looked back at Olaf waddling as fast as possible to keep up with her, his flurry cloud just barely staying over his head.

"Don't you think we should've gotten the king and that mean melty faced guy to go with us?" Olaf huffed as he continued to follow her.

"By the time we did, it might be gone! Besides, I have to-." She paused, trying to find the right way words to explain. "I have to see it for myself."

The Captain and the king both seemed like good men, even if she couldnt stand one of them, but they were tainted by their own experience and information. Elsa wanted to get her own perspective on the creature.

They trudged through the streets and dove down alleyways until they arrived at the area where Elsa thought she'd seen the creature. Olaf, wheezing with exhaustion, sank to the ground trying to regain his breathe.

Elsa looked around, trying to find any sign of the creature, but there didn't seem to be any evidence it had been there. "Where could it be...?"

Then Elsa noticed the same bright flashes of light coming from on top of a building a bit away.

"There it is!"

Elsa bolted towards the building. Olaf groaned before picking himself off the ground and following after her.

They quickly made their way through an ally that led to the street underneath the building. Just before she came to the end, Elsa noticed a familiar burning glow and stopped. Olaf quickly came in behind her and she made sure to slap a hand over his mouth to keep him from making any noise.

She peeked out from behind the edge of the building she was next to and sure enough, the fire monster was there. Its hands were extinguished as it had multiple large bags slung over its shoulder, but its eyes were still filled with flames. Sitting in front of it were two little kids, about six or seven years old. But surprisingly, neither one seemed afraid. They merely seemed to be waiting for the creature to act, as if it were a guest they weren't quite sure what to do with.

It carefully removed one of the bags from the dozens on its shoulders and dropped it at the childrens feet. One child reached out and opened the bag, revealing its contents to be the fruit it had stolen from the cart earlier in the day.

Once the children had seen the contents of the bag, the creature raised its foot and stomped it against the ground creating a blast of flame, propelling it high into the air and onto the top of the building above them.

The two kids looked up in wonder at the air. The little girl waved at the top of the building and yelled. "Thank you!" Then they excitedly tugged the bag of fruit through a door in the building.

Once they were gone, Elsa and Olaf followed back after the creature. They looked to the tops of the buildings and could easily see it speeding over the roofs, using flame propelled jumps to leap from one rooftop to the next.

After a while, it finally leapt from the top buildingng into a seedy looking alleyway filled with trash and debris.

Once again, Elsa and Olaf hid behind the corner, watching to see what it was up to.

The creature dropped its bags, turned its back to them and began digging around in the piles of garbage until removed a hunk of rotten looking meat.

Elsa eyes darted down at Olaf and could see he was just as confused as she was, before returning to the creature and noticing that it seem to be adjusting the cloth around its face. Then it held the meat up to its face and Elsa heard what sounded like chewing.

Elsa face squirmed. It couldn't be...

But sure enough, once the creature had slightly lowered the meat, there was a very large bite mark taken out of it.

Elsa gagged. The creature continued to tear off chunks of meat and could hear the sounds of smacking and slobbering.

Olaf watched with a noticeable grimace. "Oh wow, that is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. I mean, I haven't seen that many disgusting things, but this definitely takes the cake."

Elsa gave a squeak of agreement, her mouth still twisted as she watched the creature continue to eat. Once it had finished devouring the meat, it went digging through the rest of the garbage and devoured all the food it could find from old fruit rinds, to bits of vegetables, to moldy hunks of bread, stuffing them all into it's mouth with the grace of a ravenous bear.

Elsa grew even more disgusted at the sight of this voracious garbage goregefest and turned away, both hands now clapped over her mouth to keep the bile she could feel filling her cheeks from escaping.

After a few minutes of the sounds of flung garbage, and ferocious chewing and chomping, Olaf tapped her leg and said. "Okay, it's over."

Elsa roughly swallowed her vomit and returned her gaze to the creature. It picked up its bags and made its way down the ally until it took a right corner. The two of them quickly went down the alley, making sure to avoid the piles of trash, and then peeked out from behind the alley corner.

The creature was standing in front of the door on the front of the building. It rapped its fist against it. After a few seconds, out came a woman with a large ponytail of silky black hair wearing a sleveless black top that exposed her belly and puffy black pants with sandals. When she saw the creature she cocked her hands on her hips and stared up at its face looking slightly agitated.

"What are you here for now?"

Without a word, the creature dropped two of the bags off its back at her feet. They made a loud metallic ringing sound as they hit the ground and one fell open, revealing a large number of gold coins inside.

The creature once again ran off once the bags were on the ground and then lept onto another building. Like the children, the woman stared off at the place where the creature had leapt. Unlike the children, she just gave a mildly annoyed huff and lugged the two bags of loot inside.

Once the door had closed, Olaf attempted to run off towards the creature, but Elsa put her arm out in front of him. He looked up at her.

"What's wrong? Why aren't we following them?"

Elsa gaze was still trained on the door the woman went through. The way she'd acted around the creature, it seemed like she knew it personally. Maybe she could shed some light on things.

Elsa looked down at olaf with a serious expression. "I think we should ask her a few questions."

"Ooo, good idea." He tried to waddle forward again but Elsa continued to block his way.

"I can't go in like this." Elsa said, gesturing to her ice dress. If the king or, god forbid, Urooj found out she had snuck out of the palace, skulked around the kingdom at night, it might cripple their trust in her. "I need some kind of disguise."

As she thought over how to disguise herself, Elsa noticed a man walking down the road. As he passed by the alley, she payed special attention to the clothes he was wearing before he was out of sight.

Elsa stepped away from the walls and pointed to Olaf. "Close your eyes until I say so."

Olaf nodded and clamped both of his hands over his eyes.

Elsa began running her hands all along her body, her icy garment twisting, shrinking, and morphing when her fingers sailed over the icy fabric. The air began to fill with cold steam and dozens of shimmering tiny blue lights created from her outfits metamorphesis.

Once her clothes had completely transformed, Elsa told Olaf. "You can open your eyes now."

Olaf pulled away his hands and excitedly gasped when he saw her. "You look so good!"

Elsa gave a small satisfied grin. The clothes she copied and modified from the man was a white shirt with long sleeves, white baggy pants, white shoes, and overtop the shirt, an open white vest. On the edges of the vests two sides were bisected snowflake symbols that looked like one full snowflake with both edges touching.

"Hey, can I have a disguise too?" Olaf asked excitedly.

Elsa looked at him quizzicaly, wondering for a moment what possible disguise she could give a talking snowman, before shrugging, flicking her finger and conjuring a small blue ice cloak around Olaf's body.

Olaf squealed and flared out his cloak. "I love it!"

Elsa gave a more gentle smile. "Lets go get some information."

The two of them walked up to the door and Elsa knocked lightly.

Instead of the woman who was there before, the person who answered the door was a large man with short black hair wearing a red vest over his bare chest and white pants who glowered at Elsa and Olaf.

Elsa chuckled awkwardly and gave a small wave.

"Uh, hi. We were just wondering if we might speak with the lady of the house." Elsa said, hoping he wouldn't notice how she was sweating bullets.

The man quirked an eyebrow at the two of them before waving them in.

They walked in and Elsa immediately realized that what she'd originally thought was a house was actually a tavern. There were multiple round tables spread out and a bar with a set of stools off to the right. The place was loud, roudy, and stank of alcohol. The patrons seemed to be mostly large burly men like the one who greeted them, guzzling mugs of alcohol or chatting loudly with friends. There were a few women though. Some were chatting, some were flirting with the men, and one woman had a large crowd gathered around her, tossing coins as she-

Elsa blushed to the tip of her hair.

Good lord, this was a public place!

Olaf followed her gaze and tilted his head curiously as he watched the woman. "What happened to that ladies clothes?"

"Nothing!" Elsa quickly shrieked, placing one hand over Olaf's eyes while using another to block her own view of the offensive actions. The last thing she needed was him picking up any bad ideas or habits.

She looked around, doing her best to search with partially obscured vision, and saw the woman from before standing behind the bar counter.

Elsa grabbed Olaf's arm and pulled him over to the bar, sat on one stool and plopped him onto the one next to it.

The woman came over and looked expectantly at both of them. "And how can I help you?"

Elsa avoided looking the woman in the eye. She hadn't actually considered how she was going to do this.

"I was just wondering if you might want to have a little chat." Elsa said, nervousness etched on her face.

"This ain't a library sweetheart." Replied the barmaid. "Time is money. You want to talk, you're going to have buy something."

"Okay." Elsa's eyes swept across the bar, trying to locate the least drunk looking person she could, and settled for a man who she deeply hoped was just sleeping at his table.

She pointed to him and told the barmaid. "I'll have whatever he had."

"Alright." She pointed to Olaf who was spinning on his stool. " What about him?"

"The same."

The barmaid walked over to a number of different casks, grabbed two cups from beneath the bar and filled them both with flat dark yellow liquid before placing them in front of Elsa and Olaf.

Elsa took a sniff and cringed at the sour smell of the alcohol, but seeing the barmaid looking at her, she gave the best fake smile she could and tentatively took a sip from the cup.

She almost reched at the taste. It was like vinegar that had been left out in the sun and mixed with bad pickling herring. Elsa immediately wanted to spit it out, but she saw that the barmaids eyes were still on her and painfully swallowed the acidic beverage, trying to look as happy as she could with her scorched throat and watering eyes.

"Really *cough* great!" Elsa choked out, hoping the look on her face was one of joy, not overwhelming agony.

The barmaid scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Elsa took a moment to sooth her still stinging throat, before tentatively asking. "So...what is this I here about a fire monster?"

The bar suddenly went deathly quit. Elsa could feel all the eyes in the room turn on her. The barmaid struck her with a piercing glare. Her heart began beating like a drum and frost started to appear on the place where her fingertips touched the wooden bar top.

The barmaid leaned her face in so close to Elsa's their noses were inches from each other and Elsa could see each individual eye staring at her with hawk-like intensity.

"Now why would you go asking something like that?" The barmaid asked in a dangerously low tone.

Elsa stammered out. "I-I just wanted to know more about it."

"What makes you so interested in the Djinn?"

Elsa frowned, momentarily distracted from her nerves. "Djinn? Is that what you call it?"

"Yeah. So I'll ask you again." The woman leaned in closer, forcing Elsa to back up so much she was nearly off her stool. "Why do you want to know?"

Realizing that lying wouldn't help her any, she admitted. "Because I've been told a lot about it and I want to make up my mind for myself on what it is."

The barmaid backed slowly away from her face, but still seemed hesitant to say anyanything.

"Most people who go looking for the Djinn don't come back in such good shape." She warned.

"I understand. But I need to know the truth. Besides..." Elsa swept a finger around the rim of her mug while focusing her powers. Then she flipped over the mug and placed her other hand flat under it. She tapped the bottom of the mug with her finger and a solid cylinder of alcohol slid from out the upside down rim into her hand. "...I think I can protect myself."

She held it out to the barmaid and she took it. She stared down at the tube of ice and then at Elsa with unconcealed awe.

"Alright." She said, her tone a mix of astonishment and respect. "I'll tell you what I know."

* * *

_"Head to the edge of town and go east until you find an archway made of stone. If you can make it past there, you'll find what you're looking for."_

The barmaids words echoed in Elsa's head as she took in the massive rock archway that seemed almost carved into the side of the cliffface.

"Well that's pretty. So, what do we do now?" Olaf asked.

That was a good question. she'd made it seem like they had to keep going from here, but something about the way she'd worded it made Elsa uneasy.

What did the barmaid mean " _If_ they made it past?"

Forcing down her hesitation, Elsa said. "We'll just have to keep going and see wha-."

At that moment something slammed into the ground near them. The impact was so strong it created a massive gust of wind and sand. Elsa was knocked back on her behind, while Olaf's body was broken into pieces and blown away along with his flurry.

"OLAF!" Elsa cried as she watched her precious snowman being swept away by the wind. She looked back to the impact site and her eyes filled with terror.

A being molded out of pure flames stood before her. It was about the size of a large carriage, but it's appearance was unlike anything she'd ever seen. Its body was similar to that of a large cat like a cheetah, a slender muscular body covered in flaming fur with stripes and spots. It's head was also that of a cats, a round maw with knife like teeth and burning slit eyes. But mounted on top of that head was a pair of what she recognized as sharp reindeer antlers, and instead of cat paws, it's feet ended in the same split, toe-like hooves that Sven had. On it's back were massive bird wings and the tip of its tail was covered in a fan-like grouping of bird feathers. It was like some kind of bizzare chimera.

For a few seconds Elsa was frozen with fear, but then the creature roared at her and she was shaken from her stupor. She shrieked and rapidly pulled herself up from the ground before bolting in the opposite direction of the beast but before she could even make it a few feet away, it pounded forward on it's hoof feet and pounced in front of the way she was going, causing her to stumble and collapse back into the sand.

The beast began to slowly creep towards Elsa, heat radiating off it and growing more intense the closer it got. Her breathing grew ragged as the beast inched nearer and nearer. Once it was close enough that she could feel its hot breaths on her face, Elsa snapped her eyes shut, and sent a silent goodbye to her sister and Olaf.

Elsa waited for her inevitable death by mauling or burns, but it never came. She just felt warm pulses of wind and heard an odd rythmic breathing noise. She cracked open one eye and saw that beasts nose was inches away from her face, but instead of attacking it was just taking long sniffs off her.

After about its sixth sniff, it reared back its head and narrowed its eyes at her, as if unsure what to think of her.

"Hey! Elsa!"

Elsa turned around and burst into a grin at the sight of Olaf barreling down the sands towards her, completely whole.

Unfortunately, the beast also saw Olaf and charged towards him. Elsa quickly followed after it, hoping she could get to him in time.

But the beast was far faster and with just a few trots, it was right in front of Olaf.

Elsa heart skipped a beat at the sight. She picked up the pace, praying to every god she could think of that Olaf didn't get hurt.

The beast didn't seem to mean him any harm, merely giving him some sniffs as it did her, but this time it seemed to notice something different. It got a hungry expression on it's face and licked it's lips.

Elsa gasped. Was it going to eat Olaf?

She dug down deep for one more burst of speed and managed to get up where they were and force herself between it and Olaf. Despite her exhaustion, she gave as defiant an expression as she could and stared the beast down.

"Stay away from him!" She managed to shout.

It examine them both quizzically and then something odd happened. The beasts firey body slowly began to shrink in size. By the time it had stopped it was no bigger than a vase.

Elsa and Olaf moved towards it to get a closer look and what they saw made Olaf gasp in joy and Elsa stare in utter disbelief.

"What is that?"

The creature now appeared to be a small spotted kitten. It still had it's other hybrid features, but it's antlers were now small and dul, its wings barely looked big enough to lift it off the ground, and the wings on its tail took up most of the space.

"Kitty!" Olaf squealed.

The kitten pounced on Olaf, knocking him to the ground, and began voraciously licking the parts of Olaf's belly peeking out from under his ice cloak. When the creatures tongue toched Olaf's snow, it made a small cloud of steam. But instead of causing him pain, Olaf seemed to delight in them.

"Hahahahaha! S-stop, that tickles." Olaf guffawed.

Elsa gaped at the kitten creature, completely flabbergasted that something that had seemed only seconds away from killing her now looked more like a harmless house cat. She reached out her hand out to it, but it hissed at her and jumped off Olaf's belly, scittering away past the arch.

Elsa pulled Olaf off the ground. "Come on, let's follow it!"

The two gave chase to the small fire kitten, barely managing to keep it in eyesight. After one or two minutes, Elsa noticed a bright light up ahead, seperate from the kitten's. She squinted and saw what seemed to be a house up ahead.

They continued going until they got to the house. From a closer view Elsa saw how dilapidated the place was. A huge chunk of the roof and center of the building had collasped, creating a massive pile of rubble inside. She noticed that some of the rubble had been cleared away and in the area that was free was a blazing fire.

She and Olaf walked inside, carefully maneuvering around the chunks of rubble towards the fire. The kitten sat next to the fire. Olaf went over, plopped himself on the ground next go the kitten and began softly stroking its fur, causing it to wriggle and purr apprciatively. Elsa was certain this was where the creature made its home, but why?

Then she noticed a trunk half sunken into the sands that had come into the house. Lying on the top were a number of small portraits. One immediately caught her eye. It was an image of a striped sandy furred kitten with antlers, reindeer hooves and bird wings. She picked it up to examine closer and saw that written in the bottom right corner in black ink was the word **IFRIT.**

Elsa looked down at the kitten by the fire. "Ifrit? Is that your name?"

In response the kitten let out a soft mewl.

Elsa was about to look at the rest of the portraits when she noticed that the scent of burning put off by the fire had grown stronger. She gasped and whipped her head around. Sure enough, the fire creature was standing on the edge of houses threshold, glaring down at her with both literal and figurative burning anger.

The creature held up its fist and lit it ablaze. Elsa did the only thing she could think to do: She held out her palm and created a swirl of ice magic.

Upon seeing her magic, the creatures arm fell limply against to it's side. The flames in its eyes once again extinguished, leaving only eyes completely filled with wonder. It walked inside until it was right in front of Elsa and looked down at her. Then, it slowly raised both hands up to its face and pulled off the cloth covering its head, while also moving the one covering its mouth.

Elsa jaw dropped

It was a woman.

The first thing Elsa noticed about her was just how tall she was. Before there was always some distance that made it difficult to gauge an exact height, but now that she was so close, she realized that she was about eye level to the womans chest and had to crane her neck upwards to get a proper look at her.. She looked to be about Elsa's age. Her skin was the same tan color as the desert sand , her hair was coal black, long, and wild like a lions mane. The eyes she'd seen peeking out from under the cloth before were a bright amber color that almost seemed to glow in the dark. But the most distinguishing thing about this woman was the scar on her face. A pale red jagged line that started at the top of her right eyebrow, went left across her face through her nose and stopped just above the edge of the top of her lip. The garment she wore appeared to be down togethor from pieces of other garments with the same color and covered in a myriad of stitch lines, burns, and stains.

The woman still stared at her with complete amazement and once again raised her fist and set it on fire. She moved it so it was right next to Elsa's palm that contained the vortex of magic.

The two of them stared at the elements coursing through their hands, looks of unbridled elation breaking out across their faces.

"You're...like me." The woman whispered in awe.

"You have powers." Elsa said, eyes shining with happiness. A mirthful laugh bubbled up out of her throat. "You have powers!"

"So do you!" The woman cried gleefully.

The two women both shrieked with jubilant laughter, clearly exhilarated they'd met omeone with similar abilities.

Olaf, who had been observing the proceedings by the fire while still petting Ifrit, got his own grin. "Aww, isn't that nice?"

Elsa could barely contain her excitement, babbling away in a manner more befitting her sister.

"This is so incredible! I can't believe I've met another person with magic! I have so many questions, oh just wait until Anna hears about this!

For a moment the other woman seemed to be just as thrilled as her, her face beaming brightly. But then her expression morphed from one of joy to fear before settling into a look of painful resignation

"What's wrong? Elsa asked, noticing her sudden change in mood.

The woman gave a heavy sigh. "You need to leave."

Whatever happiness remained in Elsa drained out of her at those words.

"Wha-what? No, I cant leave, you're the first person I've ever met with powers like mine. There are so many things I want to know." Elsa said, her voice slighty trembling with worry.

The woman turned her back to her and replied in a hollow voice. "You shouldn't be here. Please, just go away."

"No. This is new for me too but maybe we could-." Elsa tried to step closer to her and the woman rounded on her, eyes and arms filled with flames.

"I SAID GO AWAY!" She roared.

Elsa drew back from her, her heart crushed at the loss of such a good moment. But she could see it would e bad to continue arguing and sadly replied. "Okay. Come on Olaf, let's go."

Olaf pouted and gave one last pet to Ifrit before going to Elsa. The two exited the ruined building and headed back to the city, but Elsa cast one last mournful look at the crumbled house, her mind still processing the encounter she'd just had


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forr an idea of what Nuria looks like go to https://l-egionaire.tumblr.com/post/187259424261/this-is-a-picture-of-elsa-and-my-oc-nuria-done-by

"Queen Elsa, is everything alright?"

Elsa looked up at King Faraj, his face showing obvious concern.

"You seem somewhat distracted." The king pointed out.

Elsa set down the spoon she'd been using to listfully push around the breakfast on her plate. Next to her Olaf was enjoying his own meal, twig arms rapidly shoveling food into his mouth.

"I'm just not that hungry." Elsa muttered mindlessly.

The king didn't seem convinced, but before he could say anything else, Urooj entered the dining room, shooting a glare at Elsa and Olaf before adressing king Faraj.

"Your Highness, my men and I will be starting our rounds in the village." Urooj said.

The King clapped his hands excitedly. "Excellent! Why don't you take Queen Elsa with you?"

Before Elsa could even think of a way to get out of that, Urooj almost immediately yelled. "NO!" Then in a more even tone, said. "No. the demon may get suspicious if we bring the queen along. It would be better for her to remain here in the palace. If we have need of her, we'll come and get her."

The young king gripped his chin in thought. "I suppose you do have a point." He looked to the queen. "What do you think?"

Elsa was torn. On one hand, she wanted to go out and try to meet with that fire woman again, but on the other, the idea of willingly going and taking orders from Urooj made her skin crawl.

"I think I'll stay here." Elsa answered.

"Very well." Urooj bowed to Faraj. "You're majesty." He gave a slightly stiffer bow to Elsa, then exited the dining room.

Faraj gave them an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about Urooj. I know he must seem a bit, um, ..."

"Crass, rude, arrogant?" Elsa suggested.

"A jerk?" Olaf provided, wiping the dregs of his meal off his face

"Displeased." Faraj said pointedly. "But you have to understand, our country doesn't receive many visitors. Most outsiders who aren't turned away on the spot are regarded with extreme scrutiny and suspicion. Urooj is just cautious about any kind of threat to the kingdom."

Elsa sighed. She couldn't fault the man for doing his job. Most countries might be suspicious if a snow witch was staying in the palace with the king. "I suppose you have a point."

The king gave a small chuckle. "Urooj may be bit harsh, but believe me, he only wants what's best for Arbia. He has watched over the kingdom since I was a boy. One of the last things my father ever said to me was to trust in him."

"He must have had a great deal of faith in him."

"They butted heads at times." Faraj admitted. "My father had the dream of opening Arbia's borders and allowing people from all over the world to see how great our country was. But Urooj feared that allowing in so many outside forces would cause more crime and weaken us. They argued about it a lot. In fact, they argued about the issue until the day he died. I think it's part of why he's so protective. He feels he needs to shield me so he does not lose me as he did my father. I'm sure you can understand."

Trying to shield someone from danger so that they didn't lose them? As much as she hated to admit it, Elsa understood that very well.

"I do." Elsa begrudgingly admitted. "I'll try to get along with him as well as I can." Elsa placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a yawn.

Faraj raised a brow in concern. "Are you sure your OK?"

"Yes. I just had a bit of trouble sleeping. I haven't traveled much since my coronation, so I'm still a bit unused to sleeping in a new place." Elsa lied.

The king gave an understanding smile. "Why don't you go back to your room and get some rest? Once you've woken up we can discuss some of the new trade that will take place between Arbia and Arendelle."

"That would be great." Elsa said.

She and Olaf walked back to their room, but instead of laying down for a nap, Elsa sat on the edge of her bed, absentmindedly staring at the ground.

Olaf watched her stare at the floor for a few seconds before hopping onto the bed next to her. "Elsa?"

Hearing him pulled her from her daze. "Hm?"

"Are you okay?" Olaf asked.

"I'm fine Olaf." She assured him, though she still sounded partially distracted. "Just thinking about...things."

Olaf gave her a knowing grin. "You're thinking about her, aren't you?"

He didn't need to specify who _her_ was.

Elsa's unfocused expression soon morphed into a sincere smile.

"How could I not be?"

Elsa got up off the bed and began pacing back and forth with excitement.

"I mean, did you see her? She could set her fist on fire without burning it, and could jump super high using flames, and she had a fire cat-reindeer-bird thing! Uh, it's just so amazing Olaf! She. Has. POWERS! I'm not the only one! I'm..." Her voice cracked with joy, and some slight tears built up in her eyes. "I'm not the only one."

All her life, Elsa had always felt so _different_ from everyone else. As if her powers separated her from other people in a way. Even with the love of her sister and her newfound family, Elsa still couldn't help but have moments where she felt somewhat alone due to being the only person with powers.

But now? Now she knew wasn't alone in having powers. Even though she had no evidence, she could somehow feel that the woman's abilities sprung from the same source as hers. Knowing there was someone who shared her abilities made her heart feel like it would burst with joy.

"That's great Elsa. I'm really happy for you. Except for the whole "her being a wanted fire demon thing ." Olaf said.

That made Elsa pause. In her excitement about her discovery, she'd completely forgotten about the woman being considered a criminal and a monster.

But now more than ever she was sure that wasn't right. From what she'd seen this person wasn't the monster everyone had described her as. Yes, she'd seen the assault on those guards but that didn't match up with her giving money and food to others or the look of undeniable excitement she'd shown when she saw Elsa's powers. Even when she told Elsa to leave she seemed to be just as upset about the idea as Elsa. When she roared at her to go, her angered expression and tone bore an unmistakable tinge of sadness.

_"I SAID GO AWAY!"_

_"You shouldn't be here."_

Hadn't that been her not even that long ago? Pushing people away, presenting herself as something she wasn't? She knew there had to be more to this women then first appeared.

"I have to see her again." Elsa declared. "If she is like me, than maybe I can figure out why she's attacking people. Get her to stop."

"Well I say go for it. After all, you do have experience with this kind of thing. I mean, it's from the other side, but Anna managed to help you."

"I didn't go with Anna, when she found me remember? Besides..." Elsa shuddered, still able to perfectly recall the feeling of holding her sisters frozen body. "That didn't really go so well."

Olaf grimaced, no doubt also remembering the incident. "Okay, yeah that didn't really go so well. But hey, at least you know what not to do. So first, make sure you don't get your heart set on fire."

Elsa gave a small amused grin. "I'll watch out for that."

Olaf had a point. She needed to be careful. Even if this fire woman wasn't what people proclaimed her to be, she'd seen that she could still be dangerous if made an enemy. She needed to think this through.

A part of her wished she'd brought Anna along. She had experience getting withdrawn magic people to come out of their shells. She'd probably know what to do.

But then again maybe not. Anna hadn't managed to convince her to leave the Northern Mountains. And she had been Elsa's sister. Someone she'd had a history and strong connection with. How could she get close to this fire woman when she was just some random stranger?

Olaf let out a groan and rubbed his stomach. "Well I don't know about you but I'm going to take a nap. I'm stuffed from breakfast."

Elsa suddenly looked at Olaf. "What did you just say?"

"Eh, I, just ate too much food. It really made me tired."

"Ate too much..." Elsa whispered. Like a bolt of lightning it hit her. "That's it!"

* * *

Once night fell, Elsa and Olaf once again snuck out of the palace and donned their disguises. They went to the same route that they'd taken before to the stone arch and this time, Elsa noticed Ifrit up on the stone cliff side. Ifrit pounded down to meet them and viciously sniffed both of them, being extra sure to examine the bundle in Elsa's arms covered by an orange cloth.

Elsa stayed completely still during Ifrit's smell-search and after she finished and curiously eyed the both of them, calmly said. "We didn't come here to hurt her. We just want to talk."

She wasn't entirely sure if Ifrit could understand her words, but she gave a slight nod and shrunk to her smaller form. Elsa and Olaf followed her until they arrived at the burnt out house. Elsa immediately saw the woman sitting crouched in front of the fire. Ifrit rushed ahead of them and laid beside her. She began stroking down Ifrit's back.

Elsa took in a breath and cautiously stepped forward. "Um, Hello?"

The figure immediately shot up to her full intimidating height and glared down at them. She tore off he cloth on her head. Despite her eyes not being filled with flames, due to their luminescence they still seemed to resemble raging flames. Her gaze seemed to scan over the both of them, taking in every detail she could. Elsa thought she somewhat resembled a cornered animal, her posture tense and slightly fearful. Almost seconds away from pouncing.

"What are you doing here?" The woman asked. "I told you to leave."

"You did. But I have questions and your the only person who might be able to answer them."

The woman raised an eyebrow at her. "And what makes you think I will?"

"This." Elsa whipped the cloth off the bundle revealing a large plate covered in heavily seasoned rice and large chunks of chicken meat. The king had called the dish Kabsa and had been more than happy to allow Elsa to take it and several others up to her room after she claimed to be more comfortable eating in her room.

Immediately the woman's expression swapped from a predator about to pounce to a starved puppy seeing a bone. The flame like effect of her eyes somewhat dimmed making them seem more like soft candle light than a raging wildfire. Her entire body seemed to unclench and the hungry look on her face was so intense that Elsa almost thought she'd start drooling.

She reached a hand out towards the platter but Elsa pulled away from her.

"Ah, ah, ah. I'll give you this, if you answer my questions. Unless you'd rather go back to eating garbage?"

The woman's eyes swung repeatedly from Elsa to the platter in her hands, her expression switching from fearful caution to intense hunger.

Finally hunger won out. She reluctantly said. "Fine, I'll tell you whatever you want."

Elsa walked forward and held out the Kabsa to her. The woman snatched it away and returned to her spot in front of the fire and sat down, her knees bent in front of her and her large feet poking out from the bottom of her outfit. Elsa came over and sat next to her. Olaf also came over and sat on Ifrits other side, lovingly stroking the kitty.

The woman grabbed a mound of rice and meat with her bare hands off the platter and shoved it into her mouth. She moaned with joy and began chewing voraciously. As she did, she looked over to Elsa and managed to say. "Go ahead and ask your questions." Before gulping down her mountainous mouthful and scooping up more Kabsa.

Elsa's mind raced. There were so many things she wanted to ask, yet she had trouble deciding which question to pick first. But she knew she had to hurry. At the rate the woman was digging into the platter of food, she doubted she had much time.

Finally she managed to settle on a simple question. And one she honestly should've asked from the start. "What's your name?"

Through a gargantuan amount of chicken and rice crammed into her mouth, the woman replied. "Núria."

"Núria." Elsa repeated, hoping she had pronounced it right. Now that she was able to hear her speak, she realized that she had a bit of an accent. It was different from the ones she'd heard from Faraj or any of the other people in town.

Okay that wasn't a bad start. She decided to ask the question she'd been dying to know the answer to. "How did you get your powers?"

Núria suddenly stopped eating, a fistful of Kabsa inches from her mouth. Her face got a bitter expression and she shrugged.

"I don't know." She admitted painfully. "I was just born with them."

"Oh." Despite knowing that that was a strong possibility, Elsa's heart still sank. She'd somewhat hoped that maybe if she met another person with powers, they'd be able to she'd some light on the origin of her abilities. Núria being just as in the dark on where their powers came from was depressing to say the least, but she powered on. "So you've had them since you were little?"

"Since the day I was born. I'm guessing it was the same for you?"

"Yep." Elsa looked away from her, struggling to think of what to ask next. She knew that she should ask about the attacks on the town but she knew that might be a touchy subject and the last thing she needed to do was make her unwilling to talk.

She was pulled from her thoughts by Ifrit letting out a loud whine. Núria rolled her eyes and said. "I know girl. "

She released her handful of food and wiped her hand on her clothes before standing back up, walking over to the trunk, delicately picking up the photos on top, pulling the top open, and removing a book the size of her palm. She then opened the book, tore out about several pages, and returned it to the trunk. After that, She went over to Ifrit and Olaf, balled up the pages and then dropped the wad of paper in front of Ifrit,

Ifrit sniffed the paper ball before licking her lips and biting into it, tearing off a chunk, and enthusiastically chewed it, before swallowing and ripping off another piece.

Elsa and Olaf both watched her eat curiously while Núria came back to her spot in front of the fire.

"Why didn't you just give her some of the kabsa?" Elsa asked.

"Ifrit doesn't eat people food. She only eats stuff like paper, oil, wicker. If it's flammable she'll gobble it up."

"Really? Wow that's so intere-Oww! Aww, she's nibbling on my fingers. Isn't that cu-ouch!" Olaf yelped.

Elsa looked at him and Ifrit with slight worry before turning back to Núria.

"Does she _need_ to eat?" Elsa asked.

Núria brow furrowed in thought, clearly never having thought of this before. "I don't know if she needs to, but if she doesn't she gets all moody and starts nibbling on things. Plus, she can't grow any bigger."

"Oh." As Núria returned to devouring her food, she tried to consider what to ask next. "So, you made her?"

"Yeah. When I was really little."

Elsa was a bit shocked. She'd never known she could create life until making Olaf and then Marshmallow. Then again, it was clear Núria's experience with her powers was vastly different then her own.

"Why exactly does she look so...unusual?" Elsa asked, unsure whether Núria might be upset by that description.

However, instead of seeming offended, Núria gave a small grin at her question.

"Well, when I made her, I wanted her to have the best parts of my most favorite animals. A bird, a kitten, and a reindeer."

That piqued Elsa's interest. "A reindeer?"

"Yeah." Núria's smile grew wider. "I heard stories about them all the time. They were amazing creatures with incredible powers. They had razor sharp antlers that could chop down trees, iron hard hooves that could shatter rocks with a single strike, and they were strong and swift enough to carry over a hundred men!"

From her experience with Sven, Elsa was fairly certain Reindeer weren't capable of doing any of those things, but seeing the unbridled joy and happiness on Núria's face made her decide not to say anything.

"So that's why you picked a reindeer?" Elsa said.

"Yeah. And I picked the bird because I wanted her to be able to soar through the clouds the way they did.

"And why the kitten?"

"Kittens are adorable." Núria said, as if it was obvious.

"Ah."

They sat in silence for a few seconds until Núria said. "I know they aren't really real."

"What?"

"Reindeer. I know they aren't actually real." Núria said, with a completely serious face.

Elsa blinked. "W-what do you mean they aren't real?"

"Reindeer don't actually exist. They're just some myth that was made up by people who come from the north where it's cold. A magical creature like a fairy, or a giant."

Elsa stared at her with utter disbelief. She wondered for a moment if she was playing some sort of joke, but she could tell Núria believed what she said.

"Reindeer aren't real? Oh man, Kristoff and Sven are going to be so disappointed when they hear that." Olaf said.

Núria frowned and pointed at Olaf. "What exactly is he?"

"Who Olaf?" Elsa asked, still slightly stuck on Núria's disbelief in Reindeer.

"Yeah. What is he?"

"He's my snowman." Elsa explained.

"What is that?"

"Well, he's a man. But made of snow."

"And what is snow?"

Elsa gave a slight laugh of incredulity. "Wha- you don't know what snow is? How can you no-." It was then that Elsa realized she was speaking to someone who'd grown up in a desert where rain would most likely be seen as rare. Snow was probably non-existant there. Núria stared at her expectantly.

"Um, okay, uh, snow is created when water particles get caught in the upper atmosphere above the clouds and then the temperature goes below freezing, causing the particles to freeze, so when they fall to the earth as precipitation, instead of coming down as rain they come down as ice crystals called snowflakes that then accumulate on the ground and become snow."

Núria looked at her like she'd just grown a second head. "What?"

Elsa racked her mind trying to figure out how to explain it. "Snow is, it's, well it's, this." Elsa flicked her fingers upward, causing a flurry of snowflakes to appear in the air and flutter to the ground.

Núria looked in wonder at the descending cascade of ice crystals. She held out a hand to catch one and watched as a single snowflake descended into her hand. Her face fell as it melted into her hand.

"What happened?"

"It melts when it's too hot." Elsa explained.

That clearly wasn't the best thing for her to hear. Núria scowled at her hand and shoveled the rest of the Kabsa into her mouth until the platter was empty.

"There. I'm done and I answered your questions. Now go."

"I have more questions." But Elsa knew she most likely wouldn't get anything else out of Nuria tonight, so she said. "I'll come back tomorrow. And I'll bring more food."

Núria gave her a somewhat cautious stare, but she just sighed and said. "Fine."

* * *

The next night Elsa returned, this time bearing several kebabs covered in spiced lamb meat and vegetables. She hoped that bringing more food meant that she'd be able to talk longer. She'd also brought a bowl she filled with lamp oil for Ifrit.

Once they arrived at the arch, Ifrit appeared. But rather than than the aggressive sniff down from yesterday, Ifrit's pupils widened and she excitedly trotted to Elsa. She kept trying to get closer to the oil, but Elsa kept it away.

They once again went to the burnt out house where Núria sat in front of the fire. When she saw them, her eyes widened in surprise.

"You came back?"

"Of course I did, I said I would, didn't I?"

Núria went silent and took the kebabs. Elsa sat down the bowl of of oil for Ifrit and then sat next to Núria again. Strangely, while Ifrit lapped up her oil, Núria just stared at the kebabs.

"What's wrong? You don't like lamb?" Elsa asked.

Núria shot her a suspicious look. "Who are you?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean, who are you and why are you here? I know your not one of the people in town. I've seen all of them. And you certainly look like a foreigner. Plus,you have powers that are like mine and you just happen to show up here ? Why? Who are you?"

Elsa began to panic. She knew that if she admitted that she'd been summoned by the king and his guards, Núria would be much less likely to trust her. She struggled to think of an answer before she grew more suspicious of her.

"I'm...an ice merchant." Elsa blurted out.

Núria narrowed her eyes at her. "An ice merchant?"

"Yep!, Just out, here, you know, selling ice, because it's really hot out here and this seemed like such a swell place to do business and when I heard about the whole "being with fire powers thing" I just thought, "that sounds so much like me. I should check that out" and here I am!" Elsa said rapidly, hoping Núria wouldn't notice how nervous she was.

Unfortunately, it only took one look at her face to tell she clearly didn't buy her story.

"You are a really terrible liar." Núria said bluntly. "Tell me why you're really out here!"

Elsa sighed. She knew she had to tell the truth, at least partially.

"I came out here...because of you." Elsa admitted.

Núria frowned. "Because of me?"

"Yes. I heard that there was some being with fire powers out here attacking people. I wanted to come down and see it for myself."

Núria huffed. "And do what exactly?"

Elsa shrugged. "I don't know. I suppose I just wanted a first person view. Everyone I'd talked to said that you were some kind of demon."

Hearing that, Núria glowered at the ground. "Maybe I am."

"I don't think you are."

Núria looked up in shock. "What makes you say something like that? You were there when I fought those guards. You saw what I did."

"I also saw you later. With those kids and the bartender. You gave them food, money. You could have kept it for yourself. But instead you gave it to someone who no doubt needed it."

Núria seemed lost for a response, then simply asked "What do you want from me?"

"Just a chance to get to know you." Elsa said. "I've never met another person like me before. I'll bring you more food or whatever you want. I just want to be able to talk. Get to know more about you."

"You might not like what you find out about me." Núria warned.

"I'll be the judge of that." Elsa slowly reached one of her hands over and held her palm above Núria's hand. "So, what do you say?"

Núria's looked nervously at where Elsa's hand hovered above her own before slowly opening it and and wrapping her hand around Elsa's. She looked her in the eyes with clear anxiety and yet the slightest glimmer of hope.

"Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, leave a review and let me know what you think
> 
> If you have any questions about this or my other stories go to my Tumblr at https://l-egionaire.tumblr.com

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave some reviews and let me get your opinion.


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